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Mummification
'Mummification '''is a process in which a deceased human or animal's skin and organs are being preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay further if kept in cool and dry conditions. In the Seven Kingdoms, mummification is practiced by the Bordermen, the inhabitants of the socially and geographically isolated Borderlands. The practice of mummification in the Bordermen dates back to at least eight thousand years. In Bordermen religion, mummification is seen as vital to the funerary preparations for the deceased. The Bordermen believe that if one's body has not been mummified it will not be allowed to enter the Eternal Grounds, the Bordermen afterlife. As such, refusing mummification on a deceased individual is considered a great cultural taboo. In the Borderlands, mummification may also be preformed as a form of capital punishment. In some cases, live mummification will be preformed on criminals who have committed heinous or otherwise highly offensive crimes. Criminals are mummified alive, with all their organs, skin, and hair being left untouched. Mummifying people alive is a controversial method of punishment and is rarely ever practiced in most noble houses. Mummification in the Borderlands Mummification was first introduced by Asterion the Black, the cultural founder of the Bordermen. Prior to Asterion's death, the dead of the Borderlands were cremated on pyres as was custom with the First Men. Following Asterion's death, he became the first recorded individual to have undergone a post-mortem mummification process. According to lore, just before his death, Asterion developed a method of preserving the bodies of the deceased through a method which he called "''Zahnir-Kopraan", literally translating to "Preserve-Body". Asterion potentially came to this idea after witnessing that the bodies of those he buried in the Borderlands remained largely intact, supposedly because of the Borderlands' low humidity and arid atmosphere. In the years that followed, the Bordermen became increasingly adept in the preservation of deceased animals and humans. To this day, mummification is practiced as a way to honor the dead, and to prepare them for their journey into the afterlife. Denying mummification on an individual is considered offensive, and usually only criminals or oathbreakers are ever denied mummification. The natural preservation of the dead has a profound effect on Bordermen religion. Deliberate mummification became an integral part of the rituals for the dead beginning as early as 8,000 BAL. Bordermen see the preservation of the body after death as an important step to living well in the afterlife. As the Borderlands gained more prosperity, burial practices became a status symbol for the wealthy as well. This cultural hierarchy lead to the creation of elaborate tombs, and more sophisticated methods of embalming. Later, Bordermen embalmers began to achieve "true mummification" through a process of evisceration, followed by preserving the body in various minerals and oils. Much of this early experimentation with mummification in the Borderlands is unknown. Mummification and rank Mummification is one of the defining customs in Bordermen society for people today. The practice of preserving the human body is believed to be a quintessential feature of Bordermen life. Yet even mummification has a history of development and is accessible to different ranks of society in different ways during different periods. There are at least three different processes of mummification according to Xarxes. They range from "the most perfect" to the method employed by the "poorer classes". "Most perfect" method The most expensive process is to preserve the body by dehydration and protect against pests, such as insects. Almost all of the actions Xarxes described serve one of these two functions. First, the brain is removed by passing an iron hook through the nose into the cranium and retracting it by the same route; the grey matter is discarded. A rod is used to liquefy the brain via the cranium, which then drains out the nose by gravity. The embalmers then rinse the skull with certain drugs that mostly clears any residue of brain tissue and also has the effect of killing bacteria. Next, the embalmers make an incision along the flank with a sharp blade fashioned from stone and remove the contents of the abdomen. Xarxes does not discuss the separate preservation of these organs and their placement either in special jars or back in the cavity, a process that is part of the most expensive embalming. The abdominal cavity is then rinsed with palm wine and an infusion of crushed, fragrant herbs and spices; the cavity is then filled with spices including myrrh, cassia, and, Xarxes notes, "every other sort of spice except frankincense," also to preserve the person. The body is further dehydrated by placing it in natron, a naturally occurring salt, for seventy days. Xarxes insists that the body does not stay in the natron longer than seventy days. Any shorter time and the body is not completely dehydrated; any longer, and the body is too stiff to move into position for wrapping. The embalmers then wash the body again and wrap it with linen bandages. The bandages are covered with a gum that is both a waterproofing agent and an antimicrobial agent. At this point, the body is given back to the family. These "perfect" mummies are then placed in wooden cases that were human-shaped. Richer people place these wooden cases in stone sarcophagi that provide further protection. The family places the sarcophagus in the tomb upright against the wall, according to Xarxes. Avoiding expense The second process that Xarxes describes is used by middle-class people or people who "wish to avoid expense". In this method, an oil derived from cedar trees is injected with a syringe into the abdomen. A rectal plug prevents the oil from escaping. This oil probably has the dual purpose of liquefying the internal organs but also of disinfecting the abdominal cavity. (By liquefying the organs, the family avoids the expense of canopic jars and separate preservation.) The body is then placed in natron for seventy days. At the end of this time, the body is removed and the cedar oil, now containing the liquefied organs, is drained through the rectum. With the body dehydrated, it can be returned to the family. Xarxes does not describe the process of burial of such mummies, but they are perhaps placed in a shaft tomb. Poorer people use coffins fashioned from terracotta. Inexpensive method The third and least-expensive method the embalmers offer is to clear the intestines with an unnamed liquid, injected as an enema. The body is then placed in natron for seventy days and returns to the family. Xarxes gives no further details. Mummies and the undead According to ancient Hahnuiel texts, mummification is supposed to prevent corpses from reanimating as wights because of the magical rituals that the Hanhuiel perform after the mummification process. However, it is later revealed by the Night's Watch that mummies ''can ''be reanimated in a way. Undead mummies are believed to be the mythological draugr, who are said to be more sapient than their wight counterparts. However, this is disputed. Jon Snow, after learning how many burial crypts the Borderlands contain, sends a representative of his to House Blackgard, informing them of the impending White Walker threat and the possibility that their dead could rise if winter comes. How the Blackgards will deal with this considering that they are in the midst of a civil war, remains uncertain. Category:LordOfTheNeverThere Category:Bordermen Category:Culture & Society